Killing Faith
by Demyn
Summary: The second part to Through Falling Eyes. Rowen and Sage have finally settled their differences, but something remains between Kia and the boys.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't not OWN nor did I create these wonderful little characters that I *heart* so much! *praises the creators*

~*~

Sage abruptly stopped weeping when Kia's bloody murder scream suddenly ended. He strained his ears to hear what was going on downstairs, but not hearing anything else; he stood to his feet and sprinted downstairs.

He rushed into the kitchen, immediately halting. Blinking a couple of times, he let his jaws hit the floor.

Rowen had shot one of the kitchen cabinets behind him. The cabinet was shattered; pieces of wood and glass everywhere.

Kia stood nearby, her eyes as wide as dinner plates and her hands over her mouth as she breathed heavily. Her face was an eerie pale white.

Sage turned to look at Rowen, who stared right back. He trembled as he spoke, "R-Rowen?"

Rowen moved his eyes down to the floor and blinked once, slowly, "I... I" he paused as tears welled up in his eyes, "I can't do it," he rasped, barely making out the last word before his eyes latched shut, miserably failing to keep him from crying. 

Sage didn't care anymore. He ran to his best friend and hugged him so tightly that Rowen gasped for air. He cried into Rowen's shoulder, exploding with apologies. As Rowen and Sage finally broke apart, Rowen let his eyes slowly drift to Kia.

Kia didn't say anything as she stared back, biting her bottom lip to keep her from crying.

Sage hesitated to speak, but someone had to break the deafening silence, "Rowen, I-"

"Is all of that true?" Kia spoke up suddenly. "You wanted me out of the way for awhile?" She grabbed her forehead and looked to the side, soft tears running down her cheeks. She squinted her eyes, trying to understand, "I... I don't even know what to say."

Rowen didn't reply. He took the gun that he held in his hands and threw it across the room. When it landed, Rowen hit the ceiling," Yes, Kia! All of it was true! I _cannot _take anymore of this shit that you and Sage have been giving me!"

"Ro, I'm sorry-"

"Sorry never helps anything, Sage!" Rowen cried, "Do you two want me to leave?! 'Cause I gladly will!"

"No!-"

"Then what am I supposed to do? Tell me, Kia! Tell me, Sage!"

Sage and Kia both fell silent.

Rowen crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "The only real reason why I didn't go through with it was because of Ayame." he whispered.

She couldn't hold it in any longer. Kia burst into a storm of tears and sobs. She could scarcely make out a heart-felt apology before she collapsed on her knees. For the moment, she had completely forgotten about her injury, but when she fell to the floor, it was brought back into reality. Soon she began to feel light-headed, then, slowly, each blink grew longer and longer until she fell into the blackness once again.

***

Rowen turned his head to look at Kia when she groaned in her sleep, but she didn't wake. Rowen looked back out the window, watching the sunrise.

"Rowen?"

He turned immediately, very surprised that Kia was awake.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

His eyes found the window again. "Waiting for you to wake up. Are you feeling any better?" he inquired softly.

Kia forced herself to say yes.

Rowen sighed deeply, "Kia, I want to ask you something."

She frowned, "Okay, go ahead."

"I want to ask you something, but I'm deathly afraid of the answer."

"Rowen, just ask me already! I promise-"

"Don't you dare promise me anything."

Kia blinked a couple of times in confusion. "Alright."

Rowen swallowed hard, "I want..." he stopped, sighed, and turned to make eye contact with Kia, "I want to leave you."

Kia didn't say anything. She pursed her lips and looked at her feet, seeming like she understood.

"But I'm not going to." Rowen waited for Kia to give some kind of an answer, but she didn't. He continued, hesitantly, "What I really want to know, Kia, is will I ever see you and Sage like that again?"

Kia closed her eyes, and didn't reply.

"_Will_ I?"

She slowly moved to meet her eyes with Rowen's, a tear glistening in the sunlight, "I don't know, Rowen."

He sighed heavily and brought his hand over his face.

"I don't want to lie to you, Rowen! What answer were you expecting?"

"A plain straight out no." Rowen closed his eyes, "Look. Sage isn't here for the moment and Ayame is still sleeping. Why can't you just talk to me like you trust me?"

Kia almost laughed, "I do, Ro, I do!"

"Then what's your problem? Do you _not _understand that we are still married?"

"Yes, Rowen I do! And I still love you!"

Rowen rolled his eyes and chuckled softly, "Not after what I saw. Kia, you need to learn that two wrongs don't make a right. Just because you're pregnant with Sage's kid, doesn't mean you get to play around with him." Rowen paused, but Kia didn't reply.

"Did you hear me, Kia?"

She quietly nodded and wiped a finger in the corner of her eyes. 

"So do we understand each other?"

"Yes."

Rowen swallowed the lump in his throat and sighed, somewhat relived to have had that conversation with his wife. 

"I still can't believe you tried to kill yourself, Ro. Am I really that horrible?"

Rowen hesitated, "Kia," he said her name like it he was about to scold his own daughter. "You need to think about what you're going to do." He didn't say anything more and headed for the doorway. 

"But, Rowen-" Kia watched with torment as he left her in the bedroom, alone. "But that's the thing," she mumbled to herself, "I don't know what to do."

Rowen closed the door behind him and collapsed to the floor. _What am I doing? This can't be happening to me? What did I do to deserve this? I thought that Kia would always be there for me... but now it seems like she trying to get away. What does she want me to do? _Rowen sighed heavily, dropping his head into his folded arms and lap. _Is this really going to be the end? I have to choose between my best friend and the love of my life? There has to be something that I'm missing here!_ Rowen stood up and headed for Ayame's bedroom. He walked in as silently as he could and sat down on the floor next to his daughter's bed. Slowly, he took a hold of Ayame's hand in his, stroking it with nothing but adoration. 

"Rowen?"

Rowen turned and met Sage's eyes in a challenge. "What are you doing here?" he rasped. 

Sage immediately looked to hands, "I came... I wanted to apologize and talk to you, Rowen."

Rowen closed his eyes and turned his head away, "Christ, don't even bother apologizing. It's not going to do anything."

Sage nervously bit his bottom lip. "Rowen, this is why I need to talk to you." He took a step towards his blue-haired friend who was sitting on the ground and slightly stopped. Sage waited to see if Rowen had any objection, but nothing came, so Sage continued to walk forward until he sat down next to him. He started by pressing his palms over his face and sighing whole-heartily. "Rowen, you don't understand how sorry I am. If I could go back to any point in time in my life, I would go back to when we were 10. I loved being your friend."

At that, Rowen almost twitched his head to look at Sage. Violet eyes burned into his with an almost indecipherable expression of emotion. But as soon as Sage blinked, that emotion disappeared and they were soft and clear like normal. _What in the hell was that look? Fear? Concern? _Rowen blinked a few times, exiting from his own thoughts. "But you can't change anything." he replied, rather quickly. 

Sage inhaled softly, "I know, but it's just... just-"

"Just what?" Rowen stared back with his thoughtful, dark sapphire eyes. 

"I love her, Rowen."

Rowen swallowed. He shifted uncomfortably, folding his long legs up underneath him, and slowly drew a hand through his soft silky blue hair. A tingle of something close to jealously ran down his spine like a sweat bead on damp skin. 

"It just hurts so much, Ro. I just don't know what to do."

Rowen sniffed and looked to the floor, suddenly feeling awkward looking Sage in the face. "Kia doesn't know what she's doing. Hell, _I _don't even know what I'm doing. So, Sage-"

"What you're saying is that we're at a stalemate."

"Exactly." Rowen darted his eyes to Sage's once more, but found nothing more to say. Both their eyes started to wander around the room uncomfortably, then, almost instinctively, they locked eyes again. 

Rowen reached one of his hands behind his head and scratched his neck, "Sage, I-"

"But, Rowen-"

They both started to speak at the same time, each one losing more and more self-confidence as time grew on. 

Sage sighed and started again, "You've been my best friend - and I love you as a brother. And what I'm trying to say here, Rowen, is that if this is the time to choose between you or Kia..." he paused and tensed his body up, waiting for any type of a blow, "I'd rather lose Kia than you, Rowen."

Rowen thought that his whole body stopped for that one second. He couldn't believe his own ears. "Wha-what?"

"As much as I hate this," Sage paused and quieted. "I still want to be your friend. Even if it means giving up the mother of my child." He whimpered, his voice losing itself in his throat. 

Rowen lost it. He threw himself into Sage's chest and hugged him, trying with all his might not to cry. 

Stunned, Sage could do nothing but relax himself and wrap his own arms around Rowen. He slowly closed his eyes and breathed deeply, but his mind wouldn't leave Kia alone. 

Rowen finally pulled away and stared ominously into Sage's eyes. "Sage, I can't-"

"I'm telling it like it is, Ro." Sage stated, then awarded Rowen with one of those heart-melting half smiles.

Rowen sighed and brought out his own mischievous smile. "Alright, Sage." He paused, "alright."


	2. Chapter 2

Kia shifted uncomfortably in her own bed. She couldn't take her mind off of Sage. But when she did, she thought about Rowen and then her thoughts drifted to Ayame, a child, her own child in her womb, then all the way back to Sage again. 

The sun was almost all the way up by now, the sun's rays sending a eerie kind of mist into the room as it reflected off of all the dust in the air. It was that type of morning where winter was just a breath away, but something in the air still smelled like fall. 

Kia couldn't help herself, she had to get up. All of this thinking was driving her insane. She winced in pain as she stood from her bed, the pain in her right side increasing as she moved. She forced herself to walk to the floor-to-ceiling window across the room, and opened the window enough to get a refreshing breeze. She inhaled and exhaled once, very deeply, and cleared her entire mind with one blink. 

Sage slowly slipped into the room, opening and closing the door with such skill that even Kia's perky ears couldn't pick it up. He slowly walked over to her bed and sat himself down, folded his hands in his lap and studied Kia's back. She continued to gaze out the window, the light breeze making her long hair fly all around her like a shiny black cape. And Sage knew what he had to do, "Kia?" he inquired softly, wanting nothing but her full attention.

It worked. Kia jumped 5 feet in the air and twirled on her heel, wanting to see who had called her. "Ack!" she cried out, twirling too fast and bumping her injured side on the window corner, the pain shooting up her side again. "God, Sage! Knock or make some noise next time! Shit!" she grabbed her side and inhaled through clenched teeth, trying to bare the numbing sensation. 

"Ah, sorry," was all Sage could make out.

She leaned her back against the window and took deep breaths, "What do you want?" Her voice was surprisingly soft and low for knowing how much pain she was in. Then she opened her large glazed hazel eyes and stared straight into Sage's, immediately making him weak in the knees. "Well?"

__

God damn it, Kia! Why are you making this so hard! Sage took a deep breath, "Kia, I've been meaning to talk to you since... well, since last night." Sage couldn't take his eyes off of Kia, the way the wind blew her silky hair around her body and how she looked so helpless just standing there, holding her waist in her hands. _Shit! Why does she have to look at me like that! I can't do this to her now! What am I going to do? _

"Sage? What?"

Sage regained consciousness, "Kia... I'm sorry, but this is going to sound so awkward," Sage finally won the courage to tear his eyes away from her and glare at the floor. "I can't do this anymore."

Kia grew worried, "What are you talking about?"

Sage groaned heavily and stood up, storming his way towards the door, "Damn it, Kia! You know very well what I'm talking about!" He pressed his forearm against the closed door and dropped his forehead against it, "I can't do anything for you anymore, Kia. We can't be together at all."

Kia pushed herself away from the window and stammered forward, "But, Sage!-"

"I'm best friends with Rowen. What kind of a best friend plays around with his friend's wife?" Sage stopped to swallow the emotion lodged in his throat, but he couldn't push it down, no matter how hard he swallowed. "I want to stay best friends... so, the price I'm paying," Sage slowly turned around and made one last hard eye contact with Kia, "is losing you." The emotion that he couldn't swallow found itself in Sage's eyes, weighing them down with unshed tears.

Kia couldn't see a thing through her wet eyes. "Why?" she whimpered, hot and heavy tears running down her pink cheeks.

"Because," Sage turned his back on Kia once more and reached for the doorknob. As he opened the door and took a step out, his head turned around for one moment to give Kia one of the brightest smirks he had ever given in his entire life, "because... I don't deserve you."

Kia watched him leave and choked. She fell back against the window again, sliding down to the floor and wrapping her arms around her knees. She buried her head in her lap and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to understand. _You don't deserve me? Oh Gods, Sage! What am I supposed to do? _Kia started to cry softly, but she didn't know why. _Am I confused? Hurt? Scared for hell's sake? This is so fucking messed up! _She continued to strain her mind, trying to comprehend why Sage would say a thing like that. But nothing came clear to her. She slowly moved her head upright again, looking to make sure that Sage still wasn't standing in the doorway. 

He wasn't.

She moved her head back down to her lap, but an extreme rush hit her and she realized that she had been thinking too hard and she forgot that she was clenching her teeth together. Her heart felt like it had moved to her head, each beat pounding her brain in. She closed her eyes painfully and tried to soothe herself by massaging her temples, but after two minutes, she gave up and just cried herself to sleep.

***

Sage closed the door behind him and grabbed his fists. He couldn't hold it in anymore. 

Rowen jumped from his light sleep when Sage bolted into Ayame's room. He looked up and met Sage's bloodshot eyes. "Sage? What's wrong?"

"Rowen... I need to get out for awhile." He jingled a pair of car keys in his hand, "I'll be back in a hour or two... alright?"

Rowen nodded, indicating that he understood. "Is... is she alright?"

Sage bit his bottom lip and wiped his finger under his eye, "Sure." Not saying another word, he left the doorway and headed towards the stairs.

Rowen's heavy dark blues fell to the floor as he gripped the sleeves of his t-shirt for an instant, something inside of him telling him that he should be there for Sage. But he ignored it and turned back to look at his still slumbering daughter. "Ayame... I love you." he whispered. "I don't know what I should do. I love your mother... but, she's not all she seems. Is a part of her not grown up yet?" he paused and ran his palm and fingers through his daughter's thin black hair. She mumbled something in her sleep, bringing a chuckle out of Rowen. "I hope you turn out just like your mom."

***

Sage pulled into a parking space at the nearby park. He turned off the ignition and sat in his car, his forehead pressed against the top of the steering wheel. _What's wrong with me? Why can't I control myself around Kia? _Sage banged his head against the steering wheel a couple of times, stopping soon after he could feel a migraine coming on. He slowly sat up, his eyes swimming lazily around in their sockets. Then he saw her. She was speed walking up to his car. She had changed. She looked... different. But there was something about her eyes that Sage could tell that it was her. It was Natsuki. 

***

Kia woke to the sound of Ayame crying. She listened for a second more, her crying sounding like she was in extreme pain. "Ah, shit." She scrambled to her feet and walked out of her room. But as soon as she took one step out of her bedroom doorway, Ayame stopped. Figuring that she was just having a bad dream, Kia continued to wander down the upstairs hallways to look for Rowen. She stopped every so often and listened for other signs of life from within the house, but she only heard the light padding of her feet against the floor and the steady beating of her heart. Suddenly a loud thump vibrated throughout the house and Kia stopped dead in her tracks. She listened for more. But nothing. _What's going on? _Kia thought as she continued to walk down the hallway. 

Finally she noticed Rowen at the end of the hallway. The blue's back was turned to Kia as he stared out the window, but it was no one else it could have been. 

"Rowen." she said, maintaining as nonchalant tone as she possibly could. 

There was no reaction.

"Rowen," she tried again, coming up behind him.

Still, nothing so much as a twitch of a muscle. 

"Ro? Can't you hear me?" she asked and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Rowen whipped around. His normal bright, cheery face was ashen and drawn, his mouth was turned down into a grim frown. His eyes were baggy and heavily circled and his hair was dingy and flat.

"Rowen?" she asked doubtfully, her voice filled with caution and just a hint of fear.

"Do you know where Sage is?" Rowen mumbled absently, his expression never altering in the slightest. 

Kia slowly shook her head, "No. Why? What's wrong?"

Rowen just stared blankly at Kia, not moving at all.

"Rowen? What happened to him?" she grew more worried with each passing second that Rowen didn't reply to her. But then she heard a yelp. She looked up from him and saw Natsuki. She was holding a knife to Sage's throat. He was desperately struggling to get away from Natsuki's hold, seeing that his hands were gripping tightly to her one arm that was braced across his neck - the arm that held the knife. As Sage desperately fought against Natsuki's death grip, she just held onto him like he was nothing more than a mere child and the expressions covering her features were cold and unemotional. 

Kia watched in horror as Natsuki slowly cut into Sage's throat. The dark liquid poured onto her hands like water pouring out of a faucet. He didn't even get the chance to say help before his last scream made Kia's ears cringe in repulsion. Natsuki just let him fall out of her hands and onto the floor, his dead weight landing with a loud thump. The immense amount of blood draining from his mouth and throat made Kia stumble backwards in complete shock and terror. As she tried to calm the sudden nausea in her stomach, she closed her eyes and prayed that she would wake up and forget all about this nightmare. She told herself that this was all a dream and once she opened her eyes everything would be back to normal. But nothing changed. She noticed that Natsuki was gone - but so was Sage. The only thing left of him was a dark red bloodstain on the carpet. 

"No," Kia whispered, her horror wrenching her insides in a tight knot, "Noooooo!" Kia back stepped and stumbled, landing on the hard ground, and dropping her hand into a warm moist blood spot on the carpet, instantly staining her hands.

She squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to close off the images that were suddenly placed in here mind. She cried out, opened her eyes and scrambled to her feet. She ran down the hall and noticed that the walls were coated in blood. Dark scarlet handprints gouged the wall, showing a struggle between life and death. Then, a blood-curdling scream vibrated throughout the house, bringing a icy chill to Kia's spine. She ran pass her bedroom, and to her absolute horror, Rowen was standing in the middle of the room, holding a thin and long blade in his left hand. Kia had no idea what had happened, seeing the vast quantity of blood covering the back wall and the red splatters on the ceiling. She slowly shifted her eyes over to the bed, almost afraid to see what would truly be there. Above the bed hung Ayame; his vital organs were ripped out, revealing a smooth hollow hole in the bottom of his abdomen. On the wall were stained blood streaks, almost clueing that Ayame put up no fight, what so ever. 

As Kia let herself take in these death reflections, she unintentionally let out a gasp, followed by a loud cry-scream. Rowen heard this and turned around. As he looked at Kia dead in the eyes, a small maniacal smile twisted his mouth. In the blink of an eye, he lunged for her, holding his knife up in a stabbing position. But Kia had quicker reflexes than he did. She reached for door and slammed it in his face. Tightly gripping the doorknob, she grabbed a chair that was next to her and pushed it up against the door, trying to ignore the multitude of nasty threats and curses being screamed at her from the next room. She leaned against the doorway as she took in quick breaths of fear and tried not to cry - but couldn't hold back anything. She couldn't calm herself, no matter how hard she tried. 

"Somebody… please help me…" she cried, "I don't want to die…"

Then she screamed as Rowen's bloody knife burst through the door, inches away from her head. Running as fast as her legs could carry her, she tumbled down the stairs, her tears and flawless panic blocking out everything that she knew as well as everything she hoped for. Finally making in down the stairs, she rounded a corner sharply, slipped on the rug and with a sharp crack, twisted her ankle. Crying even harder than when she was before, she pulled herself up and limped to the front door entryway. No sooner than when she let out a relieved sigh to the exit in sight, Natsuki stepped out in front of her, shattering Kia's hope of escaping - alive. Kia couldn't move. Natsuki's usually clear and bright ocean blue eyes were now a threatening dark black as they mesmerized Kia. She had a murderous look on her face and her shirt and arms were a dark red.

Kia backed up until she bumped into something. She thought it was the wall, but when she turned her head around, she soon found out that it was Rowen. He looked down at her, like a lion would look at his prey, and chuckled wickedly as he and Natsuki pressed her between them. Suddenly a sharp pain ran throughout her, which made her whole body cry out in agonizing pain, especially from the small in her back. That's where the nerve endings in the base of her spine cried to be released from their existence. Kia could only scream as Rowen slowly twisted the dagger in her back, breaking past the spinal bone and into her vital organs. She screamed until her voice went silent. 

"Kia!"

She opened her eyes and saw Rowen standing above her.

"Are you alright? What's wrong?" He sat on the floor next to Kia and put an arm on her shoulder. "You were crying in your sleep. Are you okay?"

Kia took in quick breaths of relieved fear, "Oh my gods..." She started to cry. "Rowen!" she wildly flung herself into Rowen, crying so hard that her lungs ached and her throat swelled up. 

"Christ, Kia! What's wrong?" he replied, hugging her back, not knowing what else to do. 

"Rowen! Rowen, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" She kept crying his name and repeating apologies over and over into his chest, her arms gripped to Rowen like he was the edge of a cliff, keeping her from falling to the rocks below.


	3. Chapter 3

Sage rolled down his window as Natsuki approached the car, "Suki?" he inquired softly, staring at her with his head turned to the side.

She stopped an arm length away from the car and narrowed her eyes, deciding weather or not she wanted to reply.

"What are you doing out here so early?" Sage asked her again, shifting to a more comfortable position in the car.

"Hi, Sage." she answered.

Sage put on a cocky smile, "Hua. Is that it? 'Hi, Sage'?"

"How's Kia?"

Sage faked a hearty laugh, "Kia? Kia's alright. Alive for all you care. And Rowen is doing better than ever since we're on the subject."

Natsuki crossed her arms and positioned all her weight on one foot. "Sage," she held back a laugh, "Why are you acting like this?"

He put his arm on the car door and leaned back into the chair, "Why don't you answer that for me, Natsuki. Someone that I truly cared about almost died and your asking me why I'm acting like this?" Sage laughed. "You're hilarious."

She walked forward and placed both her hands on the car door. She leaned forward and looked into the car.

"Who are you looking for?" Sage asked, his eyebrows raised. 

Natsuki blinked and shot her bright blue eyes right into Sage's violet ones. "I wasn't sure if this was another one of your tricks." she replied, blankly. 

Sage rolled his eyes, "You've changed."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You just have. Maybe it's the loss of self-confidence or something, I don't know. But like you had a lot to begin with," he mumbled.

Natsuki laughed out-loud. "Sage, Sage, Sage..."

"What?"

She shook her head, "You haven't changed, and I find it rather amusing."

"You think you know me so well?"

"Oh, I know I know you well."

Sage didn't get a chance to reply before Natsuki reached her hand to the side of his face, pulled him forward and kissed him square on the lips. Sage's body tensed the second she touched him, but only a moment after she kissed him, he melted into her. His spine tingled when Natsuki's tongue outlined his lips, then forced itself back into his mouth. But she only went far enough just to tease him before she playfully bit his bottom lip and pulled away. 

Sage stared at her in complete shock. Those wide and clear blue eyes told him nothing of what just happened. He blinked a couple of times, coming out of his stupor, "Natsuki?" he stammered.

She cursed softly. 

"I... I have to go." He quickly found the keys and started the car, roaring the engine as he backed up and squealed the tires as he peeled out of the parking lot. _Fuck! What was that all about?!_

"Sage!" Natsuki called and ran after him, but obviously not catching up to him, she slowed to a halt. "Sage!" She narrowed her eyes, and tried to swallowed something in her extremely dry throat. "Shit! Damn you, Sage!" She stomped her foot on the ground and bit her tongue to keep her from saying anything more. 

***

"Now why would you have a crazy dream like that?" Rowen asked Kia, trying to focus his eyes on hers.

"It wasn't a dream, Ro! It was a nightmare!" she cried back, still extremely upset. "I don't know why!"

Rowen sighed and sat back on his behind. "Kia, nothing like that is going to happen. Trust me."

"But it all seemed so real," she answered, taking a deep breath and calming herself down a notch. 

"Don't worry about it. It was a nightmare, its over and now you're fine." he reassured her with a light-hearted half smile. 

Kia sighed and closed her eyes.

"Why are you sitting on the ground anyways?"

Kia forced a small smile, "I-" She caught herself, "Just because, I guess." She didn't want to talk about her conversation with Sage. 

"Well, are you hungry? I can go-"

"No, I'm fine, Rowen." She stood up slowly and brushed her hair out of her face. Realizing that Rowen was still standing there, she wondered if he wanted a different answer. "I'm fine, seriously."

"What happened between you and Sage?" he asked softly, his eyes growing deep with concern as he stared at Kia's hazel ones. 

She didn't do anything except stare back, wishing that Rowen could read her mind. _I don't want to talk about it. It hurts too much, Rowen..._

After a long pause, Rowen got the hint. "Well, maybe we can talk about it later." he stopped to take a huge yawn. "But I need some sleep."

Kia smiled softly, "Alright. I'll go and check on Ayame. You can stay here." She waited for another moment, gazing kindly into Rowen's eyes. 

Rowen cocked his eyebrows and smiled back. "But we're going to talk later though, right?"

"Hai."

Kia and Rowen didn't move. They both stood there, waiting for the other one to make the first move. 

__

What is she waiting for? Does she want me to kiss her or something? Rowen thought. _But it would be so awkward... especially after all we went through in the past day. _Rowen made up his mind and leaned forward to at least plant a kiss on her cheek, but before he could make his move, Kia just bit her bottom lip and turned her head as she walked away. 

Rowen sucked his teeth, "Alright..." he heaved a heavy sigh and climbed into the bed, pulling the covers over his head. He soon forgot about everything and drifted off into a soundless sleep.

Kia walked by Ayame's doorway and checked inside, finding Ayame to still be fast asleep in her bed. Kia also glanced at the wall clock, noticing that it was nearing 8:30 am. She yawned although she knew she wasn't tired. She stretched her weak muscles and wobbled towards the stairs and down a flight. Kia walked to the kitchen and opened a few of the food cabinets, looking for some sort of breakfast food. She soon found a box of Kix and poured herself a glass of Orange Juice, then sat down at the kitchen table. 

__

Damn, it's so quiet in this house. 

She finished her glass and walked into the family room and plopped her body down in the couch. She reached for the TV remote and turned on the TV. The news came on, "Boring," she mumbled to herself and flipped the channel. Another news station came in and she changed the channel again. Next channel was a type of cartoon show. She left it there and got more comfortable on the couch. 

Then, squealing tires pulled into the driveway.

__

Who is that? Kia asked herself as she sat up and looked out the window. 

Sage jumped out of the driver's seat and slammed the door behind him. A long expression covered his usual carefree face as he walked towards the door. He opened the front door and closed it softly behind him. 

"Ro'en?" he called as he strolled into the house, dropping his coat on the floor. "Rowen-" he stopped dead in his tracks as he walked into the family room. 

Kia was sitting up on the couch, her eyes glued lustfully to Sage's. "Rowen's sleeping," she replied, rather quietly. 

"Oh... thanks." he stammered, his eyes still fixed on Kia's. 

"Sage, where did you go?" Kia inquired, her voice set on monotone.

"Just... I needed to drive around for awhile. That's all."

Kia's eyes showed that she mourned for him, "Are you alright then?"

Sage nodded hesitantly. "Yeah."

Kia just smiled back. 

"-Look, Kia, I still love you-"

"-I still love you, Sage-"

They both stopped, somewhat stunned. Kia painfully tore her eyes away and looked down at her feet, praying that this still wasn't a dream.

Sage exhaled his held breath loudly. He was about to say something more, but he decided to keep it to himself and walked away towards the stairs.

Upstairs, Sage found his way into Rowen's bedroom and softly knocked on the door "Rowen?" he asked.

No reply.

Sage opened the door slowly and peered inside. Rowen was curled into a ball, wrapped in a tangle of white blankets. He could see the mass of electric blue hair protruding from one end of the covers and a part of Rowen's face, but the way that he pressed his face into his pillow told Sage that he was in one of his 'I need this sleep' kind of sleep. He smiled to himself and closed the door. 

Sage walked back downstairs, "Kia?" he asked as he came into the family room. 

Kia didn't reply.

"Kia?" he asked again, looking over to the couch.

Kia was fast asleep on her side, her legs tucked comfortably underneath her and her arms wrapped around a pillow. 

Sage smirked. "Too much for you, Kia?" he chucked and ran his finger along the side of her face. Then his heartache hit him like a tsunami. He wanted so much to go back an hour and have dealt with the whole situation differently. "Kia... this isn't fair," he whispered. _I want you back so badly..._


	4. Chapter 4

Kia woke up later in the afternoon, yawned and stretched to the ceiling. She sat up and gazed around the family room. The TV was off and she heard Ayame laughing somewhere in the next room. Smiling, she got up and followed her daughters laugh. She found her outside on the porch running around, being chased by Sage.

"Hey, Aya!" Kia cried as she opened the door, walking out onto the porch. 

"Mommy!" she screamed, running towards her. Kia bent down and picked her up, swirling around once then bringing her down to her chest to hug her. 

"How's my baby girl doing today?" 

Ayame just smiled in return, pressing her face against Kia's shoulder and giggling. "Sage was chasing me!" she said, rather off subject and quite loudly. 

Kia slowly met eyes with Sage who was standing in the corner of the porch, his hands shoved in his pockets. "Is that right?" Kia answered. "Are you having fun?"

Ayame nodded her head firmly. "Yep."

"Where's your dad?" 

"He's still up in bed! But it's no bedtime!" Ayame protested. "Can I go wake daddy up?" she asked.

Kia smiled and shook her head, "No, you better just let him rest." Kia paused and set Ayame back on the ground. "Now," she said, bundling Ayame's coat tighter, "Why don't you go and look for some snow? I think I saw some over by the flower patch."

Ayame face grew brighter when she heard the word snow. "Oh-kay!" she ran off the porch and down the yard a little ways to the old flower patch.

Sage sniffed silently and yawned afterwards.

Kia eyed her daughter with pride, "Is she wearing you out?"

Sage nodded, "Yeah, just a little. How was your nap?"

"Mmm, sleep is always good." Kia replied and lazily crossed her arms around her chest. She looked at Sage from the corner of her eyes, "How long as she been up?"

"Well," he glanced at his wristwatch, "since it's almost 4 now, she's been perky like this for a good 5 hours."

Kia chuckled softly, "You could of woke me up, you know."

"No, don't worry about it. This is good for me-" Sage stopped dead in his sentence, allowing his self-conscience to get the better of him. "Ah, what I mean is, Ayame is a good kid. Keeps me awake-"

"Sage, just stop." Kia almost whimpered, "I know what you mean." She turned and walked towards Sage. "Lets just make this really easy on ourselves and accept the facts."

Sage sighed and nodded, "Fine. I'm sorry."

"And stop apologizing." 

Sage smiled, closed his eyes and shook his head. "Alright, Kia-san. Whatever you say."

"Mommy!" Ayame started to run back up to the house, "Mommy! Sage-ie! Look what I found!"

Kia raised an eyebrow, "Sage-ie?" she looked at him and tried not to laugh.

"Don't. Kia." Sage mumbled underneath his breath. 

"What did you find, Aya?" Kia asked, bending down to her daughters height.

"Look!" Ayame opened her enclosed hands but all that was there was water. "Hey! Where's the snow?" Ayame shook her hands to get rid of the water and looked around her feet. "Where's it?"

Sage chuckled, "Ayame, the snow melts. You can't hold it in your bare hands like that, silly."

Ayame made a pouty face, "How am I 'apposed ta hold it?"

"With mittens," Kia explained, pulling out a pair in her pocket. "C'mere and put these on." Ayame complied and held out her hands as her mother slipped them on. "There, see! Now you can go and hold some snow."

Ayame made out a quick 'domo' before she ran off back towards the small snow pile.

Kia slowly stood back up, but jerked forward a little in surprise when Sage softly grabbed her waist from behind. He put his lips to her ear, "Kia... you don't understand how much I hate this. You don't know how badly I want you to be with me."

Kia closed her eyes and placed her hands on top of his, then gave them a tight squeeze.

Sage winced, "Kia," he stopped and lightly exhaled in her ear, sending little shocks down Kia's nervous system. "I don't know if I can take nine months of being separated from you."

Kia leaned her back into him, "What do you mean nine months? Is something going to happen afterwards?"

Sage chuckled, "I didn't say that. It's just that a baby might change things."

Kia sighed, "What do you want me to do?"

Sage wrapped his arms around her waist and softly kissed her neck, whispering, "I don't know nor care."

Kia closed her eyes just as soon as tears started to blur her vision. She didn't want to pull away, but something inside of her forced her to. "Sage, please don't do this to me."

Sage looked confused, "Do what to you?"

Kia turned around and just stared at him, her eyes glazing over, "Sage," she pleaded, her voice cracking. 

Sage glared back, "What is it, Kia?"

She blinked away her tears and took a light hold of Sage's face in-between her palms.

Just the feeling of Kia's hands made Sage feel like his was ten years younger, butterflies overwhelming his stomach. He closed his eyes and grabbed Kia's hands, _God, I would do almost anything for this girl..._

"Sage, look at me." Kia waited until she had direct eye contact with him. "I... " she stopped.

"What is it already!?"

She pulled slightly on Sage's face and leaned forward, planting a baby soft kiss on his lips. It was meant to only be short and simple, but just as Kia was about to pull away, Sage swiftly moved his hands back behind her head and deepened the kiss. He pushed his body up to hers and moved his hands down to her waist. Kia responded by moving her hands behind his head, and kissed back.

It was such an overwhelming emotion to be kissing Sage again, that Kia started crying. She pulled away almost immediately after tears started to fall from her eyes. "God damn it, Sage!" She yelled, still crying. "This is why I can't deal with this!"

"What?" Sage inquired, "What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid... of you." She paused and calmed herself, wiping the salty tears away from her eyes. "I can't take it. I'm falling for you, Sage. And its not allowed to happen." She grabbed her mouth with her hands and blinked. She dropped her eyes to the ground and stared at the porch woodwork.

"Kia, I-"

"Sage, just... leave me alone for awhile." she whispered. She quickly walked towards the house and slid open the porch door and rushed inside. 

Sage sighed heavily and squeezed his eyes shut, "Dammit," he cursed. His eyes soon found Ayame again, as she sat on her behind, playing with the small snow patch. "Hey, Aya!" he called weakly, "Let's go inside, alright?"

Ayame cocked her head, "Why?"

"Because I'm getting cold."

"But snow will miss me!" she called back.

"Ayame... please? I'll make you some hot chocolate!" He persuaded. 

Ayame perked up and dropped all the snow in her hands and ran to the porch. She even ran past Sage and into the house. Sage shook his head and followed her in. 

Later that evening, the house was still quiet. Sage was in the den, reading a magazine about car racing. Ayame was in bed, tired from her long day with Sage. Kia was in the kitchen making tea and not surprisingly, Rowen was still in bed. 

Sighing, Kia set down her cup and looked up at the ceiling as she heard some restless sleeping.

Sage walked into the kitchen a few moments afterward. His eyes met Kia instantly, but as quick as he was to find them, he pulled them away as he walked towards the refrigerator. 

"Sage," Kia said, maintaining a slightly melancholy tone, "I'm going to go to bed. Do you want the rest of this tea?" she asked, holding up a teakettle.

Sage's only response was a slight shake of his head as he opened the refrigerator. 

Kia pursed her lips and dumped the rest of the tea into the sink, then set the kettle next to the sink for future cleaning. She finished the last of her tea and set down the cup next to the kettle, cleared her throat, and started to walk towards the staircase. 

Sage took in a deep breath, but furrowed his eyebrows as he got a strong whiff of alcohol. He closed the refrigerator door and looked out of the room, "Kia?" he asked rather loudly.

She stopped in her tracks and turned around, "Yes?"

"Were you drinking?"

"Yeah, tea." she replied.

"No, I meant like alcohol."

She gave him a hesitated no.

Sage walked to the stairs, meeting Kia, "I'm serious," he asked. "Were you?"

"It doesn't matter anyways," she replied, turning her back on him, and started to ascend the staircase. 

"Kia, of course it does!" he almost yelled. "Why are you messing up your system - hell, the baby?!"

Kia stopped for an instant, but didn't turn around. She sighed, pulled her hair over her shoulder, and started to walk up the stairs again. 

Sage bolted up the stairs and grabbed her shoulder, fiercely whipping her around. He didn't say anything, as he stared threateningly into her eyes, but his facial expression was of confusion. He was so close to her face that when she exhaled, the strong scent of sake burned his nostrils. "Why?" he mouthed, lessening his grip on her shoulders.

Kia turned away and closed her eyes. 

"Just..." he let the grip around her disappear. "Never mind." Without another look, Sage turned around and walked back down the stairs, headed towards the den.

Kia blinked slowly and walked up the stairs again. She headed for the room where Rowen was asleep and pushed open the door softly. Her eyes immediately found Rowen still sleeping on the bed, his arms and legs sprawled all over. Even the comforter wasn't even covering half his body. 

Kia smiled slightly and headed over to the bed. She grabbed the blanket and straightened it out so that it was covering Rowen again. Then she made the boldest move in her life - she sat down next to Rowen's side and placed one hand on the mattress next to his head, the other next to his hand. She stared at his face for the longest time, not remembering when she last blinked or exhaled. Then she reached to brush away some of the loose blue strands out of his face. Only bending down slightly, her nose soon met his. Looking up at Rowen's closed eyes for only a second, she closed her own and leaned in. 


	5. Chapter 5

Authors Note: Umm, let me really forewarn you - this chapter is a Lemon - yes, a capital L - Lemon. 

***

Rowen twitched at the touch of Kia's lips on his. He slowly opened his eyes just as she pulled away. "Kia?" he asked softly, not sure if he was dreaming or awake.

She half-smiled and nodded. 

He stared at her in slight confusion, wondering if that kiss was real. 

She sat up and curled her hair behind her ears, "Are you alright, Rowen?" she whispered.

His mind couldn't leave that kiss alone. "Yeah... I think," he replied, his tone almost inaudible. 

"Alright." she answered, then started to get up off the bed.

Rowen stopped her by quickly putting on hand on her shoulder, "Kia."

She stopped and turned her head back to face him, smiling softly when she saw that Rowen was dressed in nothing but boxers. "Hmm?"

Rowen pulled her close to him until their noses were almost touching. His eyes stared deeply into hers, although through the non-lighted room, he could barely see twelve inches in front of him. Rowen slowly closed his eyes, and leaned his head forward. Almost fearful, Rowen let his lips encounter Kia's. It was the first time they really kissed since Rowen found Sage and Kia in the kitchen the night that everyone came over.

Kia went head over heels. She kissed back like never before, holding their kiss for as long as she could hold her breath, then kissing him all over again. She leaned so much into him, that Rowen had to lay back on his bed to keep holding her pushing weight. 

Rowen had to break a moment later to catch his breath. He exhaled and inhaled, "Kia, I-"

She didn't let him speak. Kia climbed on top of him and continued to passionately kiss him. After a good moment, Kia felt Rowen hold back, swallowing hoarsely. She stopped, opened her eyes and pulled away just far enough so she could focus on his eyes. "Rowen?" she whispered.

Rowen squinted his eyes, trying to see through his blurry vision. But he couldn't hide it. Once he blinked, his secret rolled down his cheek, salty and bitter on his lips, and instantly turning the desire in Kia into confusion and uncertainty.

She choked up, "Oh, Rowen... I'm sorry!"

Rowen smiled, leaned back up and kissed her with hunger that Kia couldn't compare to. "No... I'm sorry," he replied. 

She smiled gratefully and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tight. "Rowen, you don't know how good it feels to be back in your arms again..."

"And you don't know how it feels to be back in yours."

Kia chuckled softly, giving him a tight squeeze. She hesitated a bit, "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too, Kia." 

Kia and Rowen sat on the bed, embraced by each other for the longest time. They both were afraid to let go.

"Kia, promise me that you will never leave me again."

"I never have left you."

Rowen smiled, "Just promise me, please?"

"Alright..." she pressed her nose to his ear, then moved her mouth to it, breathing lightly. "I promise" she said so softly that Rowen's ear went numb with pleasure. She finished by tracing her tongue down Rowen's earlobe.

He laughed a little bit before he took a hold of Kia's arms and turned her body around so that she was partially underneath him. He looked deeply into her eyes, studying them for the first time in a long time. Something was different about them - maybe stress or anxiety had something to do with the few dark specks that were now around her pupil. "Kia,"

A tired "Hmmm?" was his reply.

He softly kissed her again, moving his hands down to meet with hers. He brought one of her hands up to his mouth and ran his lips across her knuckles. "I'm sorry about before."

"Before what?"

"The whole..." he hesitated, "gun thing."

Kia opened her eyes, "Rowen, you're still alive. That's all I care about." she brushed her other hand against the side of his face, studying it admirably. "Nothing matters right now except that we still love each other, right?"

"Hai." he whispered back.

Kia propped her head against a pillow and closed her eyes, pulling Rowen down and meeting her lips with his. She freely roamed her hands over his smooth and bare back, then traced her fingertips down to the front of his chest, smiling when he shivered. 

Rowen soon started to kiss Kia's neck, breathing heavily down her skin and making all the little hairs on the back of her neck tingle with lust. He could feel that her desire was growing stronger by the pressure of her hands. It had been so long that he had almost forgotten everything he knew about her. 

Kia arched her back slightly into him when Rowen pressed his waist into hers. It wasn't a demanding push, it was more of a 'I missed you' kind of push. Rowen didn't want to make Kia feel uncomfortable and he definitely wanted to take things slow. 

Kia slightly pushed Rowen away, "Rowen," she started, locking eyes, "I don't want to force you into anything you don't want to do... just yet, anyways." she retorted with a smile. 

Rowen smiled, "I was just thinking the same thing." He bent down and nipped at her neck. Kia gasped and giggled softly. "But," he started.

Kia knew what he was thinking. She raised her arms over her head, slipping off her t-shit in the process. 

Rowen chuckled, but didn't get anytime to reply before Kia reached her head up and kissed him again. She slithered her hands down to his waist, slipping one finger inside the hem of his boxers and tracing him where the skin met fabric.

Rowen couldn't take the teasing any longer. He missed her so much and he knew that Kia was trying to get him hard, admitting to himself that it was working. He gave her a full deep kiss, while almost ripping off his own boxers. He shoved them down to his feet and pried them off with his toes. Then he moved his hands back up and unbuttoned Kia's shorts. He slowly traced his index finger into the hem of her underwear, softly moving it back and forth across her cold skin. Inch by inch, he slipped her shorts and underwear down to her knees. Kia did the rest and kicked them out of the bed. 

Kia pressed her wet hips against his, moving around so he wouldn't enter her just yet. She could feel Rowen's anxiousness by the way he kissed her, each kiss growing in hunger, and she could feel his hardness throbbing. Then, figuring what he wanted, she slowly moved her legs to either side of his hips, crossing her ankles behind him.

Rowen braked for air as he slowly entered her. He tediously pressed his waist into hers, going ever so slowly. He closed his eyes as Kia let out a low moan upon him getting all the way inside. He slowly pulled back out and in again, listening to another one of her moans.

Kia was thoroughly enjoying herself. Nobody gave her this much pleasure at that slow of a pace. She soon started to rock her hips with his, flexing her stomach and squeezing her legs together. Rowen let out a deep moan from back in his throat and pressed harder into her and held it there for a few moments before pulling out and holding it back in. Kia gasped at the sudden rush of pain mixed with pleasure. She couldn't save herself from crying out like she did. 

Rowen bent down and kissed her, drowning out her voice as they continued on, slowly and rhythmically. He brushed his hands down her shoulders and brought them in-between their two bodies, cupping his palms over her soft and round breasts and rubbing them inward. 

Kia inhaled and tipped her head backwards, arching her body into him. She started to move her hips a little bit faster than with what he was doing and exhaled his name. Rowen kissed her neck and traced his tongue down along her collarbone, still pressing harder and harder - not faster - into her. He kissed back up her neck and found her lips, in twirling his tongue with hers and giving her breasts a sharp pinch. 

Kia suddenly squeezed her stomach muscle and jerked her hips into his. Rowen's immediate reaction was to clench his teeth and give a cry, but he bit down on her lip. Kia cried out and grabbed her mouth.

Rowen stopped, inhaled sharply, and pulled away. "Shi-I'm sorry, Ki!"

She groaned, "Its okay," she pulled her finger away from her mouth and examined the dot of blood. She swallowed and looked up at Rowen, "You're not turning vampire on me now, are you?"

Rowen laughed and pushed himself back in, Kia giving another small whimper, "Of course not." he whispered, kissing her. 

Kia smiled, forcing Rowen off of her, then rolling over on top of him. She straddled his waist and bent down to kiss his chest. Rowen only replied with deep sighs. As she traced her mouth up Rowen's chest and to his neck, Kia started to grind her hips into his. She started going faster and faster, racing her heartbeat. Rowen's breathing grew heavier until he had to moan to balance himself. Soon he couldn't take it anymore, and without missing a single beat in their movement, he grabbed a hold of Kia's waist and pushed her to the side, Rowen following on top of her again. 

After a few moments, Rowen let out a deep moan in sync with Kia's, and collapsed to her side, gasping for air. He let his head fall back into the pillow as he closed his eyes and waited until he could breath normally again. Once he could, he turned to look Kia in the eyes, "Kia," he started, whispering, "I-"

"Shhhh..." she put her hand up to his mouth. "Don't say," she whispered, "anything." With that, she snuggled up to Rowen and buried her head in his chest and kissed him.

Rowen sighed happily and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, swallowing the last bit of uncertainty he had with Kia and closing his eyes._ If this would be the end right here and now... I'd be okay with that_, he thought to himself as he pulled Kia closer.

Kia closed her eyes and completely relaxed herself in Rowen's arms, not regretting anything she had made her mind up to. "Rowen," she murmured, "I love being with you."

He bit his lip, finding that the best answer was no answer at all. Instead, he pulled his chest away from her and slipped one of his hands underneath her chin, propping her head upward. He started deeply into her eyes and traced his other palm lightly over her stomach.

Kia stared back with indefinable emotion. She didn't know if she had completely drown in love or if she was still treading in unimaginable lust. Nothing was crystal clear, yet. 

Rowen smiled at her, and leaned his head forward to press his nose against hers. "I don't know what to say."

Kia kissed his lips lightly, "You don't need to say anything."

Rowen kissed her back, "I can tell you're waiting for something."

Kia pulled in to kiss him, but when Rowen leaned forward to kiss back, Kia pulled away, chuckling. "What do you think I'm waiting for?"

Rowen snapped his teeth at her nose, then growled softly, "Just... something..."

Kia grinned like a maniac. "Oh, really. You think so?"

"I know so," he replied, rolling back on top of her, running his hands along her sides and pushing his legs in-between hers. 

Kia responded with a heavenly sigh. She rolled her eyes shut as Rowen sat on top of her, running her hands up and down the divots of his spine, giving him chills. He started to tease her, only penetrating her enough to send horribly anxious heat signals through her entire body. When she pushed her hips upward, Rowen pulled his away, then pressed his hand on her lower stomach to hold her back. 

Kia inhaled strongly, "Rowen," she pleaded weakly, "stop it!"

Rowen laughed and leaned his body over her, arching his back in a way where he wasn't touching any part of her. 

She pulled her head up to kiss him, but he just tilted his chin upwards. 

Kia opened her eyes and glared at him, "So you wanna play?" she asked, seductively.

Rowen didn't get more than 10 seconds to reply before she pushed him over to his back and straddled him, squeezing her legs as tight as she could. 

Rowen gasped slightly, returning a laugh. Kia leaned up close to his face, "You just asked for something I know that you're not going to enjoy." She licked her bottom lip and snapped her teeth close to his mouth. Moving down to his chest, she slowly traced her tongue down the middle of it, heading straight for his belly button. But she didn't stop there. She continued down to his underwear line, stopped and sucked on his skin. 

Rowen gasped and tried to inch away, but Kia bit him teasingly, telling him to stay where he was. She looked up, "Well, Rowen, its up to you what you want me to continue with..."

"Ahh... ummm," was all he could make out, shifting uncomfortably. 

She dropped her hands down to his waist and clawed her nails along the inside of his thighs, running extremely close to his manhood. Rowen could only sigh and gasp in return, hoping she wouldn't hurt him. Then she applied pressure to her palms and ran her hands upward, grazing across his hardness and back to his stomach and down again where she ran her nails before.

"Okay, Kia! You win, you win!" Rowen inhaled sharply, gripping the bed sheets. 

She smiled triumphantly, "I'm not done ye-"

Rowen grabbed her shoulders and pulled her face to his, kissing her deeply. He cradled her face in his hands and Kia let her hands drift to the back of his head. He pushed forward and Kia lost her balance, falling backward. Her head hung off the edge of the bed and her legs were uncomfortably shoved underneath her. 

Rowen chuckled and apologized. Kia was about to untangle her legs from beneath her but Rowen slipped his hand down her stomach and pushed his fingers inside of her. 

Kia let out a quick moan of pleasure and arched her back, only causing her more pain to her legs that were crammed together. "Rowen," she gasped, "you're making it worse-" she stopped to let out another moan when his curious fingers hit her on target. 

Rowen chuckled, "Can't I get even?"

Kia growled playfully and shoved Rowen to the side, releasing her legs and climbing on top of him, running her tongue up his chest and to his neck. She brushed her body against him as she laid on top of him, playfully nipping at his nose. He leaned up and kissed her, silently. 

She stopped and laughed. "Where is this going?" she asked.

Rowen rolled on top of her again and harshly pushed himself inside. Kia squeezed her eyes shut and dug her nails into his back, letting out one single cry of pure bliss. Trying to bare the soreness in his back, Rowen only pursued to grind her harder. Soon, Kia was feeling so good, she knew that she had drown.


	6. Chapter 6

"Mommy!" Ayame ran into their room the very next morning in her pajamas, with too much energy as usual. "Mommy, Daddy, wake up!" she cried.

"Ughhh..." was all that the two could reply. 

Ayame jumped on the bed and fiercely shook Rowen's shoulder. "Daddy!"

Before Rowen could pull his hand up and smack his daughter, Kia caught him and sat up on one elbow, "Rowen," she said softly, trying not to laugh, "No."

A muffled chuckled slithered out from beneath the covers. 

"Mommy, are you awake?!"

Kia looked her daughter in the eyes, "Of course, Aya," she affirmed, smiling. "Now, what did you want?"

Ayame paused, "Breakfast. Sage is sleepy."

Kia faked a smile without flaunt. "Oh, ok." She sat up partially, grabbed her shirt on the floor and threw it on. Then she stood up and threw on a pair of Rowen's boxers. She bent over Rowen and whispered, "Downstairs," in his ear before she took off with her daughter. 

Downstairs on the couch, Sage was having an uncomfortable time sleeping. His restless night caused him to be a very light sleeper that morning. Within the first second that Ayame and Kia came walking down the stairs, he was wide-awake and very grumpy. 

"What do you want to eat?" Kia asked, fluffing her hair to add body to its flatness. 

"Cereal!" She burst out, climbing into a chair at the kitchen table. 

"Alrighty." She pulled out a box and poured its contains and some milk into a bowl and set it in front of Ayame, handing her a spoon. "There ya go."

Ayame said a quick "Thanks," before digging in. 

Kia smiled for a pausing moment, then went back to the cupboards to find something for herself.

Sage was standing in the doorway.

Kia didn't bother to make eye contact, "Good morning, Sage." she said, rather monotone. 

Sage shifted his feet and walked forward. "What was last night about?"

Kia stopped, "What do you mean?"

"Bullshit."

Kia turned on her heel, "I don't want to start anything with you this morning." She stared hard into his bloodshot and baggy eyes, keeping her ground.

Sage closed his eyes, but when he opened them again, they were filled with complete kindness. "Kia," he put both his hands on her shoulders and brought her an inch closer. Without wasting another moment, he put his lips to her forehead and closed his eyes again, taking a deep breath, "What are you thinking about right now?" 

Kia cocked her eyebrows, confused at his question, "Uhh, nothing, really."

"C'mon, I know one thing has to be on your mind."

She looked back to her daughter, "Food."

Sage pulled away and looked her square in the face, "Food?"

She smiled, "Yeah, I'm hungry."

Sage took a noticeable long sigh.

Kia only rolled her eyes in response, then took herself back towards the kitchen cabinets, hunting down to satisfy her hunger. 

Rowen finally awoke with a long yawn, smiling at himself when he heard Kia's voice downstairs. Lazily, he pulled himself from out of the covers, threw on an old t-shirt over his boxers and headed downstairs.

Sage gripped his face and pulled it downwards, wanting to pull away all the stress that he knew was there. "Kia, just listen to me for a sec-"

"I was never not listening to you." Kia interrupted, "Whatever you want to say, say it." she answered, chewing on the inside of her cheek.

"I-ah," Sage started, stammering. "I don't know..."

Kia almost laughed. "Alright then."

"How are you this morning?" Rowen suddenly popped into the kitchen, gracefully walking up to Kia, dipping her over her waist, and giving her a definite eyebrow-raising kiss. Sage stared him down with dark green envy.

"Rowen! You? This early?" Kia stared blankly at him while he reached and gave his daughter a kiss on the forehead. 

He stood back up and smiled with only sheer confidence, "Who else would it be?"

"Daddy, are you okay?" Ayame asked, grinning through her bright blue eyes.

Kia couldn't help but laugh, "Yeah, really."

Rowen shook his head, chuckling, "Just because I get up before noon, doesn't mean-"

"It means a lot!" Kia shouted, "Is there something you had planned for this morning?"

Rowen knew that Sage was stabbing his back with glares, "Ah, no reason. Just felt like getting up." He finally turned around and greeted Sage's eyes, "Hey."

Sage nodded, warily. 

"Can we talk for a second... in the other room?"

Sage waited for a moment, trying to figure out Rowen's aura this morning. Not finding anything that was worth holding back from, Sage complied.

"It'll only take a second," Rowen reassured Kia, walking out of the kitchen to the family room.

Kia shrugged, "Okay, whatever."

"So..." Sage started first, plopping his body on a couch.

Rowen pursed his lips, "Well... I want to ask you something."

Sage nodded, telling him to go on.

"Where do you and Kia stand as of now?"

Sage closed his eyes, telling himself he knew this was coming, "To be honest, I don't know."

"Sage, I'm serious here."

"What, are you waiting for me to admit that I still like her?"

Rowen was silent.

Sage burst with laughter, "I can't believe this! You!?"

"This isn't funny. Now that we have everything almost cleared up, I want you to be absolutely aware that I'm... well, I'm watching you guys."

Sage went quiet. He stared back at Rowen with complete shock and something close to anger. "Is this why you got up this morning?"he asked, almost inaudible.

Rowen ran his tongue along the bottom of his top teeth and looked at the wall. 

Sage gave a surprised exhale, "Is this where our friendship is heading to?"

"No, its just that I don't want it to go back in the gutter again, Sage." he replied harshly.

A long awkward silence followed after, engulfing them with its intangible mouth.

"So are we at an understandment, Sage?" Rowen finally asked, unsteady and unsure as his friend.

Sage bit his bottom lip and thought for a minute, then met Rowen's eyes and nodded, faking a smile. "Yeah,"

Kia closed her eyes and clenched her teeth as hard as she could to hold back the frustration inside of her as she walked away from the open doorway of the family room. _He's watching us? Doesn't he have enough trust with his wife and his best friend?_

Rowen walked back into the kitchen a moment later, greeting Kia with a sly smile. 

"What did you talk to Sage about?" Kia asked, innocently.

"Ah," Rowen ran a hand through his hair, "Nothing really. Just about financial stuff with the house."

"Oh."

"So how's your stomach?"

Kia blinked a couple times, surprised at his sudden interest with her stomach. "My stomach? Do you mean my injury or the baby?"

Rowen hesitated, "Well, both."

"My cut... it's doing better. And the baby... I have no idea. Can't feel it yet."

Rowen nodded in understandment. "Good."

Kia arched her eyebrows.

Rowen laughed, "Well, good that your stomach is better."

She rolled her eyes.

"But I also need to talk to you." Rowen looked behind him, making sure that Sage wasn't in the room, but he was. Rowen watched Sage for a moment, watching him pick up the phone. "Come upstairs with me for a minute."

Kia knew what was coming, she knew that Rowen was going to tell her something about Sage. But she followed him upstairs anyway.

"What did you want, Rowen?" she asked, closing her bedroom door behind her.

"Kia..." he stated, "What is Sage to you?"

Kia cocked her brows, "Sage? My friend." She placed her hands over her stomach, "This baby's father."

Rowen clenched his teeth and inhaled through them. 

"What, I'm just telling you what's true, Ro."

"I know, I know. But I'm trying to be serious here, Ki. If Sage ever lays a hand on you in a way that-"

"Rowen, stop!"

Rowen did stop, surprised by Kia's voice.

"Look, I heard what you said to him in the other room." She waited, watching Rowen's eyes turn cold, "You're 'watching' us? I'm sorry, but that's bullshit."

"But-"

"No, you listen to me. I still love him, yes, more than a friend. But you should have more trust in me and your best friend than you do right now. Just because we like each other doesn't mean that we're going to do anything anymore. We both love _you_ more than we love each other. We have more respect for you."

"Then give me one reason why I shouldn't be watching you guys? You both admitting to still liking each other-"

"Rowen, you are the only person who is keeping us all together. Without you... I don't know, I'd be lost in my own mind somewhere." she paused and brushed her hand against Rowen's face, "I love you."

Rowen closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Kia, it's not like I'm watching you two 24-7. I just want you to think before you do anything with him."

"Of course I will. You don't have to be afraid anymore."

"I'm not afraid now, Kia. I'm only going to be afraid when your baby comes along."

Kia fell silent. 

"ROWEN! KIA!" 

"Was that Sage?"

Rowen nodded. 

Kia and Rowen headed downstairs, following Sage's voice to the front door. It was open, Natsuki standing in the doorway. 


	7. Chapter 7

"Natsuki?" Rowen asked, stunned.

"In the flesh." she replied.

"What are you doing here?" Kia asked, her instincts taking over her kindly manners.

Natsuki glared at her for a moment, then puckered her lips, "Just dropping by, paying my boy a visit."

"Your boy?" Rowen and Kia asked at the same time.

Natsuki locked eyes with Sage, "Yep." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled his face down so she could kiss him on the cheek. 

Kia and Rowen just stared at Sage, not finding any clue why Sage was suddenly back with Natsuki. 

"Are you going to let me inside or what?" Natsuki blurted out, pushed herself through Rowen and Kia, grabbing Sage's arms and tugging him along with her. 

Rowen and Kia shared a silent moment of nothing but exasperated looks. But, both wanting to find out where this was going, Kia and Rowen followed Sage and Natsuki into the kitchen.

"Gods, this place hasn't changed at all." Natsuki remarked as she walked through the kitchen and into the family room, seating herself down on a chair and dropping her heavy bag on the floor next to her. "So," she asked, cocking her head, "How's Kia?"

Kia raised an eyebrow, "Um, I'm doing fine, I guess."

"Is that baby of yours doing any better than you guess?"

Kia scowled, "Yeah, it's doing just fine."

"Good. Because I never gave it the real present I intended to give it." She stopped laughing when she caught Rowen glaring hard at her. Shaking it off with a sigh, she reached into her bag and pulled out a small box. It was wrapped in red tissue paper and had the words 'To Kia' written with pen on the top. "Here," she replied, handing the box to Kia.

Kia held the box in her hand, studying it.

"What? It's not like it's a bomb or something. Just freaking open it."

"What the hell," Kia ripped off the paper and opened the box. Inside was a small silver chain bracelet. She picked it up and noticed a small star charm on the end. Inscribed in the silver was 'Little Star'.

"Wow," Sage remarked. "Is that really from you for our baby?"

"Not for 'our' baby, for your baby, Sage."

Kia was speechless. All she could make out was a simple, "Domo."

"I guess it's to make up for all that happened before." she said, softly.

Rowen smiled tremendously, "That was extremely generous of you, Suki. I'm glad you pulled through."

"Yeah, so don't you ever say that I never gave you anything."

Kia chuckled. "Thank you."

"Here, lemme look at it," Rowen asked.

"NO!"

Everyone looked at Natsuki.

Natsuki laughed, "Heh, well, it's a present for Kia and only a present for her."

Rowen backed off, "Alright."

"Okay, enough with the sap. What's been happening since I've been gone?"

"Not much," Sage responded, "Just a whole bunch of confusion. It's clearing, though."

Rowen nodded, "Speaking of, you're all probably wondering why I'm still in my boxers." He stood and headed for the stairs, leaving the laughter.

"Are you two... well, better now?" Natsuki asked after Rowen had left the room.

She nodded firmly. "Hai, and I hope Rowen says the same." Then she stood and grabbed the chain, placing it back into the box. "I'm going to put this somewhere where I won't forget about it in nine months." She grinned impishly and headed upstairs.

Kia walked down the hallway, meeting Rowen halfway, who was now fully dressed. "Rowen," Kia asked, stopping him in his footsteps, "Why is Natsuki here?"

He shrugged and gave her one of his more confusing glances, "I have NO idea."

"It just seems fishy that she all of the sudden winds up back here, buddy-buddy with Sage again and, to top it all off, she's acting that she likes me now."

"Acting?"

"I can tell by the way she looks me in the eye that she still completely despises me."

Rowen sighed, "I don't know what to tell you, Kia. But I'm not worried about it."

Kia flashed a half-smile, "Why not?"

"Because," Rowen took a step forward and wrapped his arms around Kia's waist, "I know you, that's why. My Kia doesn't take a liking to people who take advantage of her."

Kia laughed, "No, I'll just kick her ass."

Rowen kissed her on the lips, "Exactly."

Kia smiled, "Okay. But now you have to let me go so I can put this away."

Rowen squeezed her shoulders, and gave her a small wink, then headed back downstairs.

******************

Around 8 o'clock, everyone started to settle down for bed. Ayame was already fast asleep on the couch, and Rowen and Sage were in the kitchen , talking about absolutely nothing in particular. Kia was in Ayame's bedroom, changing her bed sheets.

Natsuki walked upstairs, following Ayame's bedroom light and walked into her room.

"Hey."

Kia dropped the bed sheet that was in her hand and turned around, "Oh, hey Suki." She paused for a minute, trying not to produce tension, but of course, she couldn't help it. She stepped backwards and picked up the bed sheet that was on the floor. With Natsuki in the room, she didn't ever want to have her back facing her.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, nothing really. Just changing Ayame's covers. They need to be washed. What's going on downstairs?"

Natsuki walked into the room, roaming her eyes around and studying the scenery. "They're just talking about nothing. Figured I'd come up here and see what you're up to."

"Well, you found me." Kia remarked with a smile of stupidity. "It gets pretty boring here sometimes."

"Yeah, I know."

A long stretch of silence passed, Kia trying to pay all of her attention of folding Ayame's bed sheets.

"Do you and Sage still have a 'fling' going on?" Natsuki suddenly asked.

Kia coughed slightly, "No, I'm trying to stay away from hi-"

"Good," she interrupted, "very good."

"Can I ask you something?" Kia inquired, not taking her eyes off of the cover she was folding.

"Yeah, go ahead."

"Why are you back?"

Natsuki scowled, "Why, don't you want me back?"

"No, I didn't say that. I was just wondering. I thought that you and Sage had broken up."

"Well, we got back together. Do you have a problem with that?"

"Natsuki, I'm just asking. You don't need to get all defensive."

"Okay, well, I'm answering you. Anyways, I'm off back downstairs." Natsuki turned around and headed for the door.

"See you in a bit."

"Oh, by the way," Natsuki waited until Kia was looking at her. "I hope you know that the charm I gave you was doused in poison."

Kia did a double take and narrowed her eyes, "Wh-what?"

"If you don't believe me, look at your hands." With that said, she giggled and ran off.

Kia's panic soared. She looked down at her fingertips, and sure enough, there were bright red scratches all over her hands. 

__

Shit! she cursed. _I can't believe this!_ Kia ran to the bathroom and opened the bottle of liquid soap, pouring its entire contents into her hands. She started to rub her hands together, frantically trying to think of what else she could do and what else she touched. She moved her hand to turn on the faucet, but immediately when the water hit, she screamed in pain and jumped backwards, hitting her head and back on the wall. She fell to her behind on the floor, curling her knees underneath her. Tears in her eyes, she reached for a towel and wiped off all the soap. She sat and thought for a moment, going back in her mind of what else she touched. _I know I didn't touch my daughter or Sage or Natsuki... Rowen.... shit. But is this really poison or is she just playing with my head?_

"Kia?" Rowen opened the bathroom door, but only had it shut back on his arm. He inhaled in pain, "Gods, Kia, are you alright? What happened? I heard you scream."

Kia wiped her tears away, "I'm fine, I guess the water was just hotter than I expected."

"Oh, okay. Well, I'll be downstair-"

"Wait a second, Ro."

"What it is?"

"Do you have... were you in the woods or something today with Ayame?"

"No, why do you ask?"

"You don't have any rashes on you what-so-ever?"

Rowen glanced up and down his arms and checked his hands, "No, not that I can see. Why?"

"Just wondering cause I think I saw a rash on Ayame, but I guess not."

"Well, do you want me to check her?"

"Um, sure. Yeah, please do that."

"Okay, see ya."

Kia exhaled softly, _Okay, now what? _Kia looked back down at her arms and saw that they were getting worse. Instead of bright red scratches, they now looked like dark red scars. It almost looked like her blood was just underneath her skin, just ready for any scrape to pour out. And how her hands ached. It felt like they had both put on twenty pounds. Every heartbeat her hands felt heavier and the scars were getting bigger and darker.

Kia stood up and grabbed a couple of towels, pretending to carry them as she walked out of the bathroom and rushed into her bedroom. She dropped the towels and locked the door behind her, the sprinted to the phone.

"Hello, operator. How can I help you?"

"Operator? Please give me the number for the poison control! Hurry!" Kia pleaded, dangerously close to tears.

"Okay, hang on."

__

Click.

"Poison Control Center, how can I help?"

****************

"Where's Kia?"

"Upstairs, cleaning Ayame's room," Natsuki replied, calm and quiet.

"Well, nothing's wrong with Ayame," Rowen mumbled to himself as he walked into the kitchen.

"What's that?"

"I said nothing's wrong with Ayame. Kia asked me if I had any rashes from being outside and she asked me to check Ayame."

Sage crinkled his brow, "That's strange. You weren't even outside today."

Natsuki held back her smile.


	8. Chapter 8

"So after I run cold water on the infected area for 10 minutes you want me to what?"

"Drink lots of chamomile tea. The cold water with probably give you a decent shock, so make sure that someone is with you. But it should stop the spreading. Make sure that you throw away everything that you touched, and put Neosporin on the infected areas once you're done putting it under water."

"Okay, thanks very much." Kia hung up the phone and sprinted back to the bathroom. She turned on the lights and took off her shirt, examining herself. The scars had moved all the way up her arms and now she had foot long scars up and down her back. She practically screamed. Then, hesitantly, she reached for the shower faucet, twisted it to full power, cold water. She stripped, and put one foot in the bathtub. Just the drips of water hitting her leg gave her shrills up her spine. Taking a deep breath, she counted to three and jumped into the water. 

The last thing she remembered was looking down at her stomach, thinking that she would never let Natsuki touch her baby.

"I'm going to take Ayame upstairs, I'll be right back." Rowen replied, scooped Ayame up into his arms and cradled her over to the stairwell.

He dropped her off in her bed, frowning when he saw a pile of sheets still laying on the ground. Then his ears picked up the shower.

He turned on his heel and headed for the bathroom.

"Kia?" he asked, knocking on the door, "Are you in there?"

Kia groaned and opened her eyes. Something cold was tapping on her shoulders and her head. Her arms and back felt numb. _What the... where am I? _She sat up, realizing that she was sitting in the bathtub. She looked up and the shower sprayed in her face. _Aghhh... shit! The poison! _Kia glanced at her arms. The scars were still there but they were pale and dull.

"Kia?"

It felt like someone was knocking on her head.

"What?" she replied, agitated.

"Okay, just checking."

Kia forced her arm to move and turn off the shower. She slowly stood, all the blood rushing to her head as she did so. She groaned again and stepped out of the tub, grabbing for a towel. She first rubbed her face, wanted to bury herself in its warmness. Then she pulled it away and went to dry off the rest of her body, but she stopped. The towel was red. She shot her eyes to the mirror and saw blood running down the side of her forehead. She put her finger up to her wound, then looked in the shower. 

One single red streak ran down the wall from the single crack up in the corner.

__

Agh... I must of hit my head when I passed out.... she thought. She looked back up at herself in the mirror again. Her lips were icy blue and her eyes were dark. Even her skin tone was 10 tones paler. _How long was I in there?_

She quickly got dressed and rummaged through the medicine cabinet, looking for bandage tape. Not finding any, she wrapped both her arms up in a towel and cleaned up her forehead. That done, she reached for the door and slowly opened it, but was quickly overcome by the warmness of the air that attacked her. Kia fell backwards a few steps, shook her head, and regained strength. She warily walked to the stairwell, but stopped and listened.

"What's Kia doing?" Natsuki asked.

"I guess taking a shower."

"At 9 o'clock at night?"

"I know. I don't understand either."

"Must be a girl thing," Sage mumbled.

"Well, I'm going to go check on her-"

"Wait, Rowen. Let me check on her, after-all, Sage DID say that it was girl thing," she replied with a chuckle.

"Whatever."

Natsuki smiled and skipped towards the stairs. She climbed up them but once she got to the top, she stopped. "Kia? I know you're around here somewhere." She began walking down the dark hallway, trying to get her blue eyes adjusted to the blackness. She heard something move around in Ayame's room, so she walked over to the door. "Kia?"

Suddenly, something grabbed her from behind and threw her into Sage's bedroom. Natsuki stumbled and fell, letting out a small groan as she hit the floor. She looked up just in time to see the door shut. Then it was blackness. 

Natsuki stood up slowly, her breathing hard and quick.

"Dammit, Kia! Fuck you!"

"I know you're nervous."

"Fuck you."

"Is that all you have to say to me?"

"Kia, where the fuck are you?!"

"Hmm, well, why don't you try and find me."

Natsuki didn't move. 

"Don't tell me you're scared of me."

"Why would I be scared of a whore?" Natsuki chuckled at her joke in the silence of the room. "Oh, come on, Kia, you have to admit that was just a little bit funny."

Natsuki tried to scream as she was pushed to the ground on her face, but her voice wasn't quick enough to surpass the bandana that was tightly wrapped around her mouth. Kia sat on top of Natsuki and sunk her knee into her lower back and grabbed both her arms, gripping them as tightly as she could with her nails.

"What the hell were you trying to pull on me with that piece of shit?"

Natsuki didn't answer.

Kia lifted her knee up, "What was it?" She asked again, calmly.

Still, Natsuki didn't do so much as twitch a muscle.

Kia scowled, "Fine, have it your way." She hammered her knee back into Natsuki's back, causing her to let out a low wail of pain. "Are you going to answer me now?" Kia rasped, pulling her head up by her hair.

Natsuki spit out the bandana, "Give me one good reason why I should tell you," she whispered.

Kia pulled her hair and pressed harder on her back.

Natsuki screamed, "Okay, okay! Stop, please!"

Kia stopped but slammed her face down at the floor, "Tell me."

"I'll tell you," Natsuki smiled and slowly moved her arm up, "I gave you that charm because of this!" she jammed her elbow into Kia's stomach and rolled to the side, kicking her backwards.

Kia cried out with agony, grabbed her stomach and biting her lip to minimize the intense pain. Her whole body burned with so much pain that she couldn't think straight. She didn't even notice that Natsuki picked up an old glass beer bottle from Sage's top shelf and smashed it against the table.

Kia was trying to stay aware, trying to disregard the pain... trying to breathe. 

"Kia, you've messed with the wrong girl..." Natsuki raised back the broken bottle in her hand.

"Stop right now, Natsuki!"

She whipped around, but it only caused her to shut her eyes and groan because the sudden light of the opened doorway blinded her. Sage ran up to her and grabbed the bottle out of her hands and threw her on the bed.

Rowen took one look at Kia and rushed over to her side. 

He crumbled to his knees and propped her head against his leg. There, he gently cradled her head in his arms and bit his lip."Kia?" he asked, softly, "Are you alright?"

She gently fluttered open her eyes, still trying as hard as she could to breathe. She tried to put her hand up so she could touch Rowen's face. Her tone grew a little louder as she tried to cry but couldn't, "Rowen, I don't think I can take-," she stopped and squeezed her eyes shut, taking in a couple of breaths. "It just hurts so bad..."

"Kia, everything it going to be alright. You don't have to worry."

"My baby... I don't know what's happening,"

Rowen looked up at Sage as he stood in front of Natsuki, staring her down as she sat on the bed. "What did you do to her?"

Natsuki laughed. "Me? Do to her? Try flipping it around. What did she do to me?"

"God damn you! Just fucking answer the question!" Sage yelled.

"So I jabbed her in the stomach, it doesn't do anyone harm-"

"Not if she's pregnant!" Sage screamed back. He grabbed his head with his hands as he growled in complete fury, "You are so-"

"And what the fuck is on her arms?!" Rowen yelled, his worry and terror taking over his body.

Sage walked over in front of the two and glanced at Kia's arms. Pale red and purple scars lined all up and down her arms. Rowen pushed up her sleeves and they still kept going. Sage couldn't believe his eyes. "Jezus Christ, Natsuki!" Sage pulled back his arm, getting ready to hit her but Rowen stood up and stopped him. 

"Don't even think about hitting her..."

Sage bit his lip.

"We can either get into trouble or get into a hell-load of trouble, Sage. You pick."

Sage clenched his teeth, "All right."

"I'm not sitting here watching you defend that whore," Natsuki stood up and jogged out of the room, but Sage wasn't far behind.

Rowen pursed his lips and walked back to Kia, who was now breathing more normally. Rowen's eyes glanced into hers with sincerity, "Are you going to be alright, Kia?"

She sat up, weakly, "Yeah."

Rowen picked her up and sat her on the bed. "What happened?"

Kia sighed, unshed tears forming in her eyes, "Remember that charm?" Rowen nodded. "Well, she put poison on it and that's what happened to my skin." She paused to take a deep breath, and paused to stop herself from crying, but it didn't work. "I don't want anything to happen to my baby, Ro," she pleaded, her voice cracking and tears shimmering down her cheeks.

Rowen bit his lip, "What else did she do to you?" he asked, whispering.

Kia caught her breath and wiped a finger under each eye, "Jabbed her elbow straight into me."

Rowen cursed under his breath.

"I told you something was up with her coming back here."

"Well, I want you to stay here, okay?" Rowen stood up and placed one hand on the bed by her face and one by her waist, then bent over and kissed her. "I promise I'll be back."

Kia nodded, watching until Rowen left the room, then closed her eyes.

*******************

Rowen ran down the stairs, meeting Sage in the family room. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Where is Suki?"

Sage hesitated, "I don't know."

Rowen hit the ceiling, "What?! You don't know where she is?!"

"She ran out of the room! I have no idea where she is!"

"Is her car still here?"

Sage nodded.

"Then she's still in the house somewhere. You go check in the basement, I'll check around here. And be careful."

Sage nodded and ran down to the basement door.

******************

"Ayame, we're going to go on a big car ride, alright?" 

Ayame smiled and nodded, while she was being put into the front seat of the new green explorer. She watched as her guardian walked around the car and got into the driver's seat. 

"You ready?"

She nodded firmly, grasping her pink stuffed dog. 

The green car peeled out of the driveway, and anyone in the house could have easily gotten spine chills from the sound of the rubber being burned off on the road.

Kia looked out the window.

*********************

Not finding any sign of Natsuki downstairs, he went upstairs, first checking in Ayame's room. But there was nothing but an empty bed. "Ayame... Ayame? Ayame!?" Rowen called over and over, his walking pace bolting to a sprint as he ran through the house. He bumped into Sage on his way downstairs, stopping himself, "Have you seen Ayame?!"

"Isn't she still in bed?"

Rowen cursed and sprinted back down to the kitchen. He checked underneath the table, knowing it was one of her favorite hiding spots. All he found was a red hair ribbon. Biting his lip, he picked up the ribbon and stood up, trying to think of where else his daughter could be hiding. 

He walked out of the kitchen, trailing towards the family room, thinking that she might have hidden behind one of the couches. Instead, he was handed a note as Sage walked back down the steps, tears all over the page and tears in Sage's eyes.

__

Rowen and Sage-

I can't take anymore of this. I think my daughter can say the same. We've gone to live elsewhere, somewhere you'll never know about. I want to start a new life. I want to learn how and I have to try, 

All I know is that right now, I need something more than this. Something... less chaos. I still have mad love for both of you, never forget that. But if you only remember one thing in this letter, remember this - I didn't leave because of you two. I left for myself.

Sage, I'll send you updates of your baby and maybe, just maybe one day I'll come back and introduce him to his real father.

Love forever-

Kia H.

Rowen swallowed hard, closed his eyes, and whispered the name of his daughter. 

Sage watched as Rowen crumpled the letter in his hands, then closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. 

"I can't believe her."

"I can." Rowen whispered. "I believe her."


	9. Chapter 9

Authors Note:: Hey all- New stuff for ya. The rest of the fic is taking place in 

the near future. Not to totally confusion anyone! But anyways, KEEP ON READING!

Sage, a normal early riser in their household, stretched before walking outside onto his porch. He set his cup of tea down on the porch railing before heading down the driveway to get the mail. Chuckling, he looked up at his bedroom window, seeing Natsuki admiring him from up above. He gave her a smile and a small wave before heading back to the end of the driveway to fetch the mail. 

As he walked back to the house, he rummaged through the envelops, finding bills, some of Natsuki's fashion magazines, and a Barbie magazine for Neki. But there was one letter in the pile that was addressed to `Dad`. There was no return address and the envelope looking banged up and old.

Sage pondered to himself, _"Neki? Is today Father's Day?" _He chuckled to himself, _"Neki... I can never get enough of your games, can I?"_

********************

"What came in the mail today?" Natsuki asked, waltzing down the stairs and giving Sage a peck on the cheek before going through the pile. 

"Nothing new. But Neki is getting creative on us." He held up the old letter.

Natsuki laughed. "Why don't you open it now?"

He shrugged, "Why not?" He pulled his finger through the envelope seal and pulled out the piece of paper. A couple of photos dropped from the folded paper and he bent over to pick them up.

Natsuki watched as Sage's face grew from calmness to complete terror. 

"What's wrong? Are those bad pictures?" She said with a grin. 

Sage could only throw the pictures at her on the counter. Natsuki looked at them. The first one was of a little boy who looked exactly like her husband when he was about 5, except for his unusual bright green eyes. Natsuki smiled with a hint of confusion, "What, was this you when you were a kid?"

Sage blankly shook his head. "Look at this one."

The next one was of the same boy and next to him was an older looking girl, maybe 12, with rich long black hair and stunning sapphire eyes. "Who are these kids?" 

Sage didn't reply while he read the letter that went along with the photos. 

Natsuki waited impatiently for Sage to finish, but in mid silence, Sage broke out into tears.

"What's wrong, Sage?! What happened?"

He calmed a little by taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. Slowly opening them, he began to read the letter. "Dad, Sorry, but I've never met you before. Mommy says really good stuff about you all the time. She also talks a lot about Rowen too. But, these pictures are of me and my sister, Ayame-" Sage 

couldn't go any further without crying. 

Natsuki inhaled sharply, "...Kia?"

Sage could only nod and shove the letter at her. She fiercely read through the letter, finally getting to the bottom where the kid wrote, _'I'll be seeing you soon after you get this letter.'_

Both Natsuki and Sage jumped ten feet into the air when the telephone rang. 

"You should pick it up," Sage replied, forcefully.

Hesitantly, she did. "Hello?"

"Hey, Suki."

She exhaled a life and a half, "Oh, hey Rowen."

Upon knowing it was Rowen, Sage clawed for the phone, "Rowen? Rowen, please, can you get off work today and come down to see me?"

Rowen suddenly grew worried by Sage's sudden plea, "Yeah, I can. Why? Is something wrong?"

"Just try to get down here as fast as you can. But no, nothing is wrong with me, Neki, or Natsuki,"

"Oh, okay. I'll try to get there by 11:30."

Sage glanced at the clock, realizing it was close to 10. "Can you try to get here any sooner?"

"What's so urgent that I need to be there any sooner?" Rowen almost yelled.

Sage took a deep breath, "Rowen... it's Kia." Sage waited for a moment, but didn't hear anything. "Ro, you still there?"

"... Yeah, I'll be there in 20 minutes."

Sage didn't get a chance to reply before Rowen hung up the phone. He sighed and walked over to the front door.

Neki came down the stairs, her face drawn out from tiredness, "Mom, what's going on? And where's Dad?"

Natsuki smiled at her calmly, "Nothing, sweetie. Just, family problems. And Dad's outside."

"Is Ro-chan okay?"

Natsuki nodded weakly, "Yeah, he's fine." She gazed her daughter over once, smiling at her messy shoulder length dirty blonde hair and her tired brown eyes. At only 16, she was already too mature for her age. "You can go back to bed if you want."

Neki looked out the porch window, seeing her Dad, "No. What's wrong with Dad? Something happened and you won't tell me about it."

Natsuki sighed. "Well, Ro-chan is coming over here in about 15 minutes. It has to do with something that happened long ago with him and your dad."

"What?" She looked at the letter on the table, "Did they find a long lost cousin or something?"

"Something like that."

Neki forced a half smile and headed for the TV. room.

Not 10 minutes later, Rowen screeched to a halt in their driveway, practically falling out of his car and racing to the porch. He stumbled across Sage, who was still standing outside, "Sage? Well, what is it? Where is she?"

Sage shook his head, "She's not here. But you need to read this and look at these." He handed him the letter and the pictures.

After a few moments, Rowen collapsed in a chair behind him. "And you just got this letter this morning?"

Sage nodded, taking a sip of his cold tea.

Rowen couldn't take his eyes off the one pictures of his daughter, "Gods... I can't believe how different Ayame looks... and she's still young in this picture..." He sat admiring the picture, running his finger down the side of her face and staring unemotionally. "She can't be old already."

"I guess all we can do now... is wait."

Rowen nodded in agreement. "What did Natsuki say?"

Sage closed his eyes, "Nothing, yet. But I'm expecting it later."

Rowen bit his bottom lip. Kia...

*********************

The house was surprisingly quiet all day. 7 o'clock rolled around and Neki went out with her boyfriend, leaving Sage, Rowen and Natsuki all alone. 

_"Where could they be?" _Sage thought to himself, pacing back and forth in the kitchen, finishing his 15th cup of coffee he had that day. 

"Would you stop acting so nervous?" Natsuki pledged, cracking her knuckles.

"I'm not acting!" Sage yelled back.

"You don't need to yell."

"Agh, sorry, its just that I'm so nervous. So nervous..." Sage brought his hands up to his forehead and pressed his temples together, trying to avoid the migraine that he knew was coming on. "My... son..." Sage paused long enough to glance once at Natsuki, "You don't understand how it feels to be knowing that 

you're going to meet your child that you've never seen before," Sage whispered.

Natsuki nodded with uncertainty, then looking over to where Rowen was sitting, 

"And Rowen, you're more than welcome to stay over here tonight. I understand-"

"Okay, thanks."

************************

10 o'clock came and left, Neki back home and in bed, but not to sleep. Sage and Natsuki were up in their room, and Rowen in one of the spare rooms. 

Tonight was a night like no other. The moon was out, not a night cloud in the sky, and not a breeze to be blown. But for early spring, there was a still a hint of winter in the air. 

"This is going to drive me insane!" Sage remarked, holding himself back from punching the wall.

Natsuki set down the letter on the nightstand, "Well, this letter looks pretty old. And same with these pictures. Its been about... I don't know, how long has it been since... since, well, you know-"

"Its been almost 17 years, Suki." Sage remarked.

Natsuki crossed her eyebrows, "It's been that long?"

Sage nodded.

"Then these pictures are totally old. There's no way that Ayame can be this young. She'd be... she's probably almost 19 by now."

Sage dropped his body back on the bed, completely worn out. "I know, Natsuki, I know. That`s what's driving me insane." Sage looked at the ceiling for a minute, then abruptly got up, "I'm going to see how Ro's doing."


	10. Chapter 10

Sage walked to Rowen's bedroom and knocked on the door, but there was no response. Sage wasn't surprised.

"Rowen? Rowen, please let me in I want to talk to you." Sage compromised with him, but still, there was no response.

Sage turned the doorknob, and, surprisingly, it was open. He walked into the dark room and immediately noticed Rowen sitting next to the window. The moon cast a dark and eerie light across the bedroom creating an even darker shadow of Rowen, as he sat with his arms wrapped tightly around his legs. One single tear fell from his cheek and dropped to the floor, sparkling in the half-light of the moon until it hit the ground, creating a splatter of water. The tear that fell from Rowen's face wasn't clear like normal tears. It was thicker and darker. Sage ran up to his best friend and sat down next to him on the windowsill and gazed into his eyes. Rowen blinked slowly and let another blood tear escape his defenses as he stared out the window. The blood traced a small trail down Rowen's ivory cheek and fell into the crease of his mouth. From there it dripped off his lower lip and onto his hand.

"Rowen!? Why are you crying _blood_?!" Sage cried, feeling an immeasurable amount of fear and worry seep into his body. 

Rowen exhaled deeply and slowly turned his gaze to Sage. In the decreasing amount of light in the room, Sage could definitely tell that Rowen's eyes had a thin coat of blood around them. He swallowed hard, and blinked a couple of times, letting a few more blood-stained tears fall out of his eyes, until they were clear again.

"I don't know, Sage… I just don't know." Rowen replied, his voice just barely audible.

"Jesus Christ! You're scaring me, Rowen!" Sage pleaded. "Are you really that worried?!"

"I'm not worried about anything, Sage." Rowen whimpered, "It's just that I guess I haven't realized how much I missed my daughter." 

Sage didn't know what to say. "I don't know what to do for you-"

"And I don't even know what to think about Kia anymore," Rowen said, his last words muffled because of how bad his voice was giving in. 

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't apologize,"

"No, I'm sorry because I miss Kia too."

Rowen didn't reply. Instead he sighed, but it only left him crying again. He pressed his forehead against the windowpane and looked down at his bloodstained hands. "I'm sorry about everything, Sage."

"What?"

"Everything. I never wanted to get into a fight with you over Kia. It was just that... well, I was jealous."

Sage bit his bottom lip. 

"I knew that Kia loved you and I guess that I was selfish, I wanted her all for myself. But I should have just let you two get along. Maybe things would have went smoother."

"I'll never forgive myself for what I put you through, Rowen."

Rowen forced a very small smile of uncertainty through his mouth and onto his lips, as he barely nodded his head, showing he understood. That let a small sigh of relief pass through Sage's body. Then Sage got up and headed out the door, "When they come home, wake me up."

Rowen nodded.

*************************** 

"Go ahead, knock on the door." 

Ayame knocked on the door, but instead, the door opened.

Kia looked confused for a moment, "Well, that's a first." She took a step forward, her two children following her inside the house.

"Where do you think they are?"

"Most likely, sleeping."

"Do you think Dad got my letter?"

"Of course." Kia stopped and listened for a moment. "If I tell you guys to be extremely quiet, can you make it upstairs?"

The two nodded.

"Alright, follow me." Kia walked slowly up to the staircase. Once they had gotten up the stairs, Kia told her them to stay where they were while she checked on the bedrooms. She checked her old one first. To her complete surprise, she found Sage and Natsuki sleeping side by side. They had left their nightstand light on, and Kia noticed her son's letter in Sage's hand. She smiled and tried to hold back her emotion. Then she tiptoed to the other bedroom. With no one in that room, she checked the last one. 

Her inhale was sharp as she found Rowen fast asleep on top of the bed's covers. She didn't expect to find him here. 

"Okay, Ayame come with me." Kia instructed, pulling her daughter by the arm as she lead her to Rowen's bedroom.

Kia slowly opened Rowen's door wide enough for her and Ayame to squeeze through and walked in. 

Ayame suddenly stopped, "Are you sure?"

Kia pursed her lips, nodding. "Go ahead." She waited for a moment longer before leaving the room.

Ayame took a deep breath and walked over to her father's side. She held back a laugh, remembering that his hair was blue. With tears of happiness in her eyes, she let her hand graze across her father's face.

Rowen shook his head slightly and blinked his eyes open, wide and as innocent as a child's. His eyes soon met the figure that was standing above him, "What- who are you?" he whispered.

Ayame sat down on the bed, the moonlight making her face visible.

Rowen's mouth dropped a little and his eyebrows folded over his eyes. He stared at her for the longest time, features interchangeable. Her long and thin silky black hair and her sapphire blue eyes were so familiar.

Ayame blinked as two soft tears rolled down the sides of her cheeks, "Dad?" she rasped.

Rowen's eyebrows arched, "Ayame?!"

She closed her eyes and nodded.

Rowen suddenly choked up and flew himself at his daughter, squeezing her as tight as he could. Ayame cried into his shoulder, squeezing back. After what seemed like forever, Rowen took a hold of her shoulders and pulled her back, admiring her. "I can't believe you're here."

"Yep, here I am." she replied with a lighthearted laugh.

Rowen embraced her again, and gave her kiss on the forehead, "Gods, I've missed you so much."

"Me too."

"And you've turned out so so beautiful. Like I've always imagined."

"Dad, stop!"

Rowen chuckled and wiped away his tears. "I always knew you were going to look exactly like your mother" Rowen stopped in mid-sentence.

"What?"

"Your mother."

Ayame giggled, "Yeah, she's here too."

************************

"Ready?" Kia asked her son.

He nodded.

Kia led him to Sage's room and opened the door. 

As soon as he got a glance at him and whom he was sleeping with, he stopped. "But I thought you said that he was my dad."

"He is."

"Then who is that woman?"

She hesitated, "We'll talk about it later, ok?"

He shrugged, walked forward. But he hesitated, "I... I can't do this, mom."

"Yes you can, just tap his shoulder."

"But what if he doesn't like me?"

"Of course he will!" Kia rasped, "He's your only son!"

Sage's son stood there for a moment, debating whether or not he should wake his dad up.

"For Christ's sake," Kia walked up to Sage's side, bent down and put her face next to his. Lightly, she brushed some of his loose blonde strands out of his face and studied his lips. "Sage..." she whispered.

Sage shifted his body and opened his eyes, immediately meeting them with Kia's. He shot up, "Kia?"

Kia stood back and straighten her body.

Sage couldn't take his eyes off of her. She had changed so much. Instead of her beautiful long black hair, she had most of it chopped off. It was now pixie cut and flipped outwards. She still looked extremely young. Even her hazel eyes still had a sparkle in them.

"Sage?"

He blinked, finally comprehending his name, "Kia... when did you get here?"

"A few minutes ago." she smiled softly, now realizing how much she missed seeing Sage's face. But before she had another second to think, Sage jumped out of his bed and attacked Kia with a huge hug. 

"Shit, I can't believe you're finally back! I've missed you so so much!" he cried into her, biting his lip to hold back the tears.

Kia hugged him back, "Me too, Sage."

After they broke apart, Sage's eyes fell upon a boy standing behind Kia.

Kia smiled, "Sage, I have someone to introduce to you." She stepped back and pulled her son forward. "Sage, this is your son, Gabryel."

Sage stared at Gabryel, stared at his messy bleach blonde hair, his emerald green eyes placed so gently on his immaculate face. He looked so stunned, his eyes were so big. 

"My son?" Sage whispered.

Gabryel nodded softly. "Dad!" he cried and threw himself at Sage, crying into his chest.

Kia smiled at herself inside, glad that she had made the choice to come back and visit. Then she noticed that Natsuki was up. She was staring at Sage and Gabryel, but Kia couldn't pick up what kind of a stare it was. "_Anger? Delight? Possibly jealously?" _Kia didn't know. 

"Mom?" Ayame opened the bedroom door, Rowen following behind her.

When Kia's eyes met Rowen's, she couldn't save herself from crying. "Rowen..."

Ayame looked up at her dad, seeing his eyes glued to her mother's. She smiled softly and pushed him towards her, "Dad, it's Kia." she whispered.

Kia walked towards Rowen, and moved her arms apart to give him a hug, but Rowen backed up. Kia cocked her eyebrows, "Rowen?"

"Is that really you?"

Kia nodded.

Rowen fell silent as he studied her face. Then he brought one of his hands up to her cheek. Kia closed her eyes and grabbed his hand with both of hers. 

"Rowen... don't be mad at me..."

Rowen instantly grabbed her by the shoulders and embraced her. "Mad?" he whispered in her ear. "Never."


	11. end

Authors note!!!

THank you for reading my ficcie... please drop by my INFO thingy on fanfiction so you can see the other fics I wrote. THANK you! R&R PLEASE


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